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what size winch?

23K views 37 replies 15 participants last post by  whaler 
#1 · (Edited)
just was wondering what size winch everyone has. We always used to use a 8000lb one in the old daze,,, (back when things weren't so expensive) but wow! those are pricy! I've spent so much $$ lately,,, was just trying to be frugal...

so........ what's the minimum lb-age that I can get by with for winching myself out of a tight spot,,, Wrangler X 2 door.....

thanks ya'll

Janet
 
#4 ·
I would get at least an 8k winch. I have a warn 9500 and if I needed to buy another it would probably again be a 9500.

Also I wouldn't go cheap on the winch. You get what ya pay for and it's one of the most important accessories you put on. It will get you out of places your tires, axles, and motor can't
 
#6 ·
I run a warn 8000 on my yj and find it to be adequate, but i wouldnt run anything smaller. There have been a few times where i have had to pull out the snatchblock because the winch was getting overloaded. If you keep your eyes peeled for sales, a warn 8k can be had for $450. I picked mine up new from a vendor at our local swapmeet. I recommend the roller fairlead version that comes with 100 ft of cable unless you plan on buying synthetic line right away.
 
#8 ·
I have used my Smittybuilt 8000 many, many, many times on my YJ. I've pulled a lot of different vehicles out of trouble and up steep hills. I've gotten myself out of some really bad spots too. I'll bet I got well over fifty pulls with it and it's still running strong.
That said, if money was no object I would get a 10Klb. Don't end up with a winch with a slow fixed rate line speed.
You will hear a lot of BS arguments about which brand is better, but truth is, they all can fail.
There are vendors on here that can hook you up (see what I did there?) with a good deal on a good winch.
 
#10 ·
Ever drink Keystone? Not to thread jack but I really don't care for it.
 
#12 ·
I think you pretty much nailed it with that one. Im not a fan either but some the keith stone commercials are hilarious

If I had money and needed onboard air for my rig I'd get one of these:

warn powerplant
 
#13 ·
Those are nice, and convenient. My buddy has one on his TJ and the compressor has failed on him three times. Fortunately it was still under warranty but what a hassle. He said if he had to buy it over again he would get the Warn and use a separate compressor. Kind of like buying one of those TVs with the DVD built in.
 
#38 ·
Exactly!

We've had six Warn winches over the last 35 years. We use them for recovery, tensioning fence, pulling trees out of the road... The list goes on and on. They have all been bullet-proof, traded only when I sold the vehicles and/or sized up. In the first thirty years I can remember seeing only one Warn fail on the trail: it was decades old and showing a lot of rust. (They don't last forever if they're regularly submerged and/or not maintained.) Unfortunately, the "Powerplants" haven't been upholding the same tradition of excellence. I'd buy a quality Warn 9000 or 9.5 (not their bottom-end* cheese-whiz line), and get an ARB compressor system.

* When I was a kid, ALL Sears tools were "Craftsman", all were high quality, and all carried no-questions-asked lifetime warranties. Then, about 35 or 40 years ago, Sears decided to start selling a second line of cheaper (crappier) tools at a lower price point, because they wanted a piece of the low-end tool market. I didn't know about the new line and was surprised when the tools I bought broke and Sears refused to replace them (because they were "Sears" brand (Taiwan), not "Craftsman".) I'm sure Sears made lots of money in the short run, capitalizing on their great name to sell cheap tools, but the long term results have been terrible: Sears no longer means top quality... That's reserved for brands like Snap-on and Mac. Sears forfeited it's reputation by joining the low-end dog-squeeze tool market. John Deere did the same thing when they started building disposable look-alike garden tractors for the big box stores. I'm worried Warn is doing the same thing by building a "bargain line". People don't distinguish which model line fails on the trail... What they remember is that the winch broke and it said "Warn" on the side... Buy one of the top-line Warns it won't let you down.
 
#15 ·
Watered down Coors? That's REALLY bad, because Coors tastes like what I would think deer urine would taste like.
 
#28 ·
That sounds spendy to me... havent checked prices anytime recently but i picked up my warn 8000 w/ roller fairlead NIB for 450 out the door 2 yrs ago
 
#24 ·
You can get a Smittybuilt 8K for less money. Great winch, lifetime warranty at 4wheelparts.
 
#27 ·
The HF one is really sloooooooowwwww.......

I use the hell out of my Smittybuilt XRC8. I have pulled eight rigs in a row up the same long steep hill one day and it performed like a champ. Never had a bit of trouble with it and it's been on my Jeep for four years. I've used it well over 100 times. I use it here on the ranch for all sorts of stuff. It's been submerged in water and mud too.
If it breaks, I just pull it off, take it to 4wheelparts, they get me a replacement free. Even if they didn't, it was less than half the price of a Warn so I could throw it away and go get a new one and still save money.
 
#29 · (Edited)
I checked into it after flappin my jaws and holy ****e. did warn start coating all internal parts of their winches with unobtainium or something as an anti wear measure??? Maybe they are now using GOLD instead of copper for power cables and electrical connections? Whoever decides the pricing on these things must have done so right after they got done smoking a huge rock! since when does it cost 750 dollars to get an M8000????

Best deal i could find online was 629 but it comes with a free wireless remote with the purchase...


Seems like a pretty good deal to me arent those usually over 100 by themselves? Ive heard some people say they dont like the delay of the wireless remote though.
 
#31 ·
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